Selling Infringing Goods Breaches a Dealer Agreement

Selling Infringing Goods Breaches a Dealer Agreement

Cislo & Thomas recently won a $1.7 million binding arbitration award on behalf of its client Kirby Morgan Dive Systems, Inc., the industry leader in the commercial diving industry. The defendant was a Kirby Morgan-authorized dealer, who was selling infringing dive helmets. These sales violated the dealer agreement, infringed upon Kirby Morgan’s intellectual property rights, and interfered with Kirby Morgan’s relations with its other customers and authorized dealers. The award requires the defendant to pay Kirby Morgan over $1.7 million in lost revenue, product reclamation, repairs, and return fees, attorneys’ fees, costs of arbitration, and punitive damages. Also, the award enjoins the defendant from infringing Kirby Morgan’s trademarks, trade dress, and copyrights, and requires it to refrain from designing, manufacturing, producing, and selling competing dive products.